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A American legislative panel investigating sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein has sent a letter to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, once Britain’s Prince Andrew, demanding that he undergo an interview as part of its investigation into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a document published on Thursday, a California congressman, the top Democrat on the House oversight panel, urged that King Charles III’s younger brother cooperate with its inquiry.

The official demand to provide testimony comes a week after Mountbatten Windsor was stripped of his HRH style and consented to give up his leased home in Windsor.

Documents and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name features in records and travel logs secured from Epstein’s estate and disclosed by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of abuse.

“The oversight committee will probe allegations of abuse by Mountbatten Windsor, and will request details on Epstein’s activities, associates, and connections based on the men’s long-term and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a statement.

It requested particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his relationship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has always vehemently rejected any wrongdoing.

Substance of the Request

“It has been widely reported that your relationship with Mr Epstein began in 1999 and that you remained close through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for soliciting minors for commercial sex acts,” the letter said.

It added: “It has also been reported that you traveled with Epstein to his New York home, the Queen’s residence at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s secluded island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been charged of abusing young girls. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, along with the recently revealed 2011 digital communication in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further bolsters our belief that you may have key insights about the crimes committed by Mr Epstein and his co-conspirators.”

A statement regarding the letter said it was supported by 13 other Democrats on the committee and requests a response by 20 November.

Previous Comments and Cooperation

The letter arrives a week after another Democrat on the committee commented: “Andrew should be summoned to testify before the oversight committee. The people should be able to know who was assaulting women and underage individuals alongside Epstein.”

However, the congressman does not possess the power to legally require the duke and Congress itself cannot force testimony from a overseas individual.

In 2020, US officials said that Mountbatten Windsor did not respond to US demands for an interview. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that prosecutors and the FBI had approached Andrew’s lawyers to follow up on his public commitment that he was “prepared to help any relevant law enforcement agency”.

“It’s just for people to know whether Prince Andrew has followed through with that pledge,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “provided zero cooperation”.

Calls for Transparency

The lawmaker said in a announcement that “affluent and powerful men have avoided the law for far too long. Now, former Prince Andrew has the opportunity to tell the truth and deliver redress for the affected individuals. We will not stop advocating for responsibility and clarity for those affected of Epstein and his network of co-conspirators.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after listening to evidence to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as media coverage of released files, “it is vital that Andrew works together with the active inquiry. If he is not guilty, then he can clear his name.”

The lawmaker stated further: “And if not, our probe will demonstrate that, and the affected individuals will receive belated accountability. The Royal Family’s actions stripping Andrew of his styles indicate there is more to this story.”

The letter was sent on the same day the British king formally revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his HRH style. Charles III formally made the change – which had been declared a week ago – by issuing a “official document” which the crown office made public in the Gazette, the UK’s official public record.